Hon Hai’s 3C CyberMart sets up in northeast China

IT RETAIL:：CyberMart is expanding beyond major Chinese cities, while shares of Hon Hai’s Foxconn slumped on news of it being removed from Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index

Staff Writer, with CNA

Sat, May 14, 2011 - Page 11

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said yesterday its computing, communications and consumer electronics (3C) retailer, CyberMart (賽博數碼廣場), had set up a foothold in northeast China to capitalize on the region’s growing purchasing power.

CyberMart opened its first outlet in Changchun, Jilin Province, on Thursday, extending its presence beyond major Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Beijing to a -previously untapped area of China.

The information technology retail business is booming in Changchun and offers the group considerable growth potential, Hon Hai said.

CyberMart is hoping to win customers with a new store layout concept. It is the first 3C store in Changchun to set up an exclusive zone for a single brand, ie, a 200m2 section devoted exclusively to Apple Inc’s products.

Hon Hai said the fresh concept and its convenient transportation access should spur buying interest and help draw an average of more than 600,000 shoppers a day.

Since last year, CyberMart has opened 34 outlets in China, mostly in major cities, as part of Hon Hai’s efforts to diversify its interests in China from contract manufacturing to distribution and retailing.

Before the end of this year, Hon Hai plans to add eight CyberMart outlets in Chinese cities, including Xiamen in Fujian Province, Kunming in Yunnan Province, Zhengzhou in Henan Province and Urumqi in Xinjiang.

The combined floor space of the eight stores will be equivalent to about half of the floor space at the chain’s 34 existing stores.

Earlier this year, Hon Hai signed an agreement with authorities in Tianjin to invest 1 billion yuan (US$154 million) in a flagship CyberMart store in the city next year.